Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Eve unequivocally rejected the cloaked figure's demand.

She considered her hands quite valuable—certainly more so than information she could glean through a bit of thought. Even if potions could regenerate a hand, wouldn't cutting it off still hurt?

There was no need for unnecessary suffering.

But the cloaked figure showed no anger at the refusal. She merely gathered her cloak and said cryptically, "The gifts of fate always come with a price. I’ll await the day you come to trade with me."

Eve retorted, "You remind me a bit of those demons common in literature, the kind most fond of swindling and deceiving."

Especially when staring at others with those cold, vertical pupils.

"Is that so?" the cloaked figure replied vaguely. "How do you know demons aren’t modeled after my kind?"

That statement was unsettling, easily conjuring unpleasant associations.

Eve opted for a polite smile before quickly making her escape.

Venom Fang had thoroughly learned its lesson from Alice’s previous attack on their base. This time, the starship's security and defense measures were significantly enhanced. Everyone received a wristband with an embedded identity chip. Different chips granted different permissions, determining which areas individuals could access. Even the starship’s network was specially configured.

Eve’s status within Venom Fang was entirely dependent on her association with the cloaked figure. In essence, she had very limited permissions herself. Aside from her small room and the alchemy laboratory, she had no access to other areas, and even internet access was heavily restricted.

Fortunately, her only superior was the cloaked figure. If the cloaked figure were willing to grant her permissions, she could expand her exploration range.

Unfortunately, the two had just parted on bad terms after failing to agree on a "physical" transaction. For the time being, Eve would have to find a way to resolve the permission issue on her own.

As she pondered this, heading towards the alchemy laboratory, she unexpectedly collided head-on with someone pushing the door open from inside.

"Ouch!"

"S-sorry!"

Eve instinctively pushed away the person she had bumped into and took two steps back. Only then did she recognize the familiar face—startled yet still apologetic.

Dark, short hair, a fair and handsome face flushed with embarrassment from the collision, and a slow, drawn-out way of speaking—who else could it be but Luo Wenzhou?

Well... what a coincidence.

An idea immediately sparked in Eve’s mind. Rubbing her sore shoulder, she said gruffly, "Who are you?"

Luo Wenzhou looked up abruptly. Realizing the person he had bumped into wasn't the owner of the alchemy laboratory but another individual wearing the same black robe, he let out a sigh of relief. But soon, new doubts arose in his mind.

"Who are you?" he asked. "This is that lady’s laboratory. Are you her apprentice?"

"Yes, and I was about to ask who you are and why you were sneaking out of my teacher’s laboratory," Eve retorted without hesitation.

She grabbed Luo Wenzhou’s wrist, her expression full of suspicion as she preemptively accused him, "How do you even have permission to enter here if you don’t know who I am? Don’t tell me you’re a thief sent by your leader to steal my teacher’s precious materials and potions?"

Luo Wenzhou: "..."

He was stunned by this baseless accusation, his face instantly flushing red. Even his speech quickened slightly: "H-how can you call someone a thief right off the bat? I’m in charge of procurement, sent by the leader to deliver materials to the lady. Of course I have permission to enter the laboratory."

Hearing this, Eve was equally stunned.

She looked Luo Wenzhou up and down, noting his plain, unassuming attire.

A human trafficking ring operating on Black Star had actually enlisted the young master of the Luo family to handle their procurement. Even if Leng Tian were to die today, he’d have something to brag about in the next life.

Working as a spy seemed quite arduous. Giving him a strange look, Eve stepped past Luo Wenzhou and walked into the laboratory. Perhaps provoked by Eve’s earlier loud accusation of "thief," Luo Wenzhou didn’t hurry away. Instead, he followed her inside.

When Eve had left the laboratory the previous night, the table had been a mess thanks to the master-apprentice duo. Now, however, it had been tidied up neatly—papers were sorted together, potion bottle caps were tightly screwed on, and quill pens were put away. She flipped through the stack of papers and found they had been arranged in order of content. Though it wasn’t anything extraordinary, it at least proved that the person who tidied up could understand what was written on them.

Eve casually asked, "Do you know alchemy?"

The moment she asked, she paused for two seconds—wasn’t this the exact question the cloaked figure had asked her yesterday?

Luo Wenzhou said slowly, "I only have a basic understanding... for work purposes."

That made sense—those in business had to learn a little bit of everything.

A stack of thick-covered alchemy manuscripts sat on the corner of the table. So these were what the cloaked figure had purchased. Eve glanced at them, feeling somewhat suspicious.

Come to think of it, did no one in Venom Fang suspect Luo Wenzhou’s role as a procurement officer?

Surely no one actually believed an ordinary errand boy could procure precious alchemy manuscripts. It was obvious that someone had brought their own resources.

Though she deeply felt that bringing one’s own resources to work was not worth it, she was more curious about what Young Master Luo was trying to gain by both running errands and contributing his own resources.

...Did he know the cloaked figure? Or was there evidence of collaboration between the two from the start?

But was a small human trafficking organization truly worth the involvement of a four-star alchemist at least and the Luo family?

Eve turned around and put an arm around Luo Wenzhou’s shoulder. The black-haired young man tensed up, wary. "I’ve already proven I’m not a thief. What else do you want?"

"What do you think I want?" Eve chuckled. "I just wanted to ask if the teacher gave you a list when she sent you out for procurement."

"Why do you need that?"

"To cross-check the list. What if you bought less and embezzled the funds?"

"You suspect me of stealing money?"

Hearing this, Luo Wenzhou nearly choked with anger. These books... these books were funded out of his own pocket. How could she accuse him of embezzlement?

With the meager allowance Venom Fang provided, did anyone actually believe he could buy alchemy manuscripts?!

Wealthy people couldn’t tolerate such insults. As it turned out, taunting worked exceptionally well on Young Master Luo. He immediately pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and slammed it on the table, suppressing his fury. "The initial funds and the bill are all on this paper. Items bought are checked, unchecked items are blank. Go ahead and verify—see if I embezzled even a cent of your money."

He sneered, "Check it. Make sure you go through each item carefully. You can even ask your teacher how much she gave me in total."

She hadn’t given him any money at all!

Luo Wenzhou was filled with indignation.

"Wow, why are you so easily angered? I’m just doing my job," Eve said, though her hand still reached for the slip of paper, making Luo Wenzhou’s eye twitch.

A bad feeling suddenly ran down his spine. Luo Wenzhou felt suddenly nervous and pressed his hand down on the paper.

"What?" Eve looked at him. "Scared to show me?"

Infuriated, Luo Wenzhou instantly withdrew his hand.

Alchemists’ manuscripts usually noted the author’s name on the title page, and different alchemists focused on different research directions. Eve unfolded the slip of paper, scanned it, and thought with dismay at her own limited knowledge—at least half the alchemists on the list were unknown to her.

She prided herself on having a wide reading and being knowledgeable in the history of alchemy, yet she didn't know where these names had come from. She hadn’t even heard of them.

However, all those familiar names were, without exception, alchemists specializing in human medicine and spiritual toxins, and a few even had "Oliver" as their last name.

What does my bargain instructor want with these? Could she be from the Oliver Family?

Eve pondered for a moment, feeling that given the Oliver Family's sinister and clearly unethical academic practices, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched for them to produce a non-human species alchemist.

"......"

Still feels very anti-human.

Her gaze continued downward until it landed on the title in the last row. Behind the mask, Eve’s eyes widened abruptly.

— *The Cionanado Manuscript Collection*!

Why did the Cloaked One think of having Luo Wenzhou help her collect this? Eve was absolutely, completely certain that whether in the most comprehensive alchemy histories, the Starnet, or even the Medici family’s internal resource network, there was no one named Cionanado—not even anyone with a similar name.

"No way, I actually randomly met the right teacher," she murmured, feigning calm as she handed the slip back to Luo Wenzhou.

Luo Wenzhou: "Well? Do you still have any questions now?"

Eve: "Yes, I do."

Luo Wenzhou: "......"

Even if he were a fool, he’d know she was messing with him. He let out a cold laugh and was about to walk away but was physically stopped by Eve.

"Don’t be in such a hurry to leave," Eve said. "I just want to ask, where did you get the money to buy so many books?"

"After all, these books look like they’d cost more than even selling Viper's Fang could cover."

Hearing this, Luo Wenzhou’s steps faltered, his back visibly stiffening.

A blank silver mask pressed close from behind, and even the voice that spoke was ice-cold: "You’re not from Viper's Fang, are you? Where'd you get it?"

"......"

Luo Wenzhou fell silent for a moment, his voice wooden. "Just tell me what you want to extort from me. Stop making things difficult for me."

"I really enjoy talking to you people from the Luo family—so accommodating."

Eve reached out and tapped his wristband, smiling. "How about we swap these? I’d like to borrow your access."

"If you take my access, what am I supposed to do?"

"I believe with your capabilities, Young Master, you shouldn’t be left without travel clearances just because you’ve lost your wristband."

The other party had already revealed his true identity, while he still didn’t even know what she looked like. The outcome of this game was clear.

Luo Wenzhou took a deep breath and promptly took off his wristband, handing it to Eve. After they exchanged wristbands, Luo Wenzhou suddenly asked, "You’re not her apprentice, are you? Not an assistant either. Her people wouldn’t be so ill-mannered. Where did you sneak in from? Aren’t you afraid I’ll rat you out?"

"Don’t project your own issues, alright?" Eve chuckled. "Young Master, we’re not the same."

With a click, the wristband clasp fastened back into place. Eve withdrew her hand into her sleeve, the blank mask facing Luo Wenzhou like a blatant mockery.

She pointed upward toward the ceiling and said smugly, "I really do have friends in high places."

She was, after all, a formally recognized apprentice by the cloaked figure, officially taken on.

Luo Wenzhou: "......"

Someone without even basic access was pretending to have connections.

He couldn’t be bothered to waste any more time arguing with this masked psycho who kept giving him a hard time. He turned and strode away.

A flash of platinum light glimmered briefly. Eve tucked her hands into her sleeves, watching from behind as the irritated Luo Wenzhou departed—or more precisely, watching the butterfly-shaped spiritual state on the black-haired young man’s back, visible only to her.

The starship floated in outer space. Even if the Luna Butterfly had autonomous movement, she couldn’t send it down to the surface. But Luo Wenzhou was different. As a procurement officer, he likely had many opportunities for field missions—perfect for giving the Luna Butterfly a ride.

Once it reached the surface, the Luna Butterfly could find its way to the Upside Down Wonderland’s base on its own, and then Alice and the others would know where she was. With the Young Master of Viper's Fang under her control, Eve was confident they’d find a way to get to her.

After the Luna Butterfly left, the rest would be up to her.

Eve glanced at Luo Wenzhou’s wristband in her hand—a plain black wristband that, in her eyes, seemed to shine like gold.

Honestly, this was the first time she didn’t have a spiritual state to rely on. For a considerable time to come, she would truly have to depend on her own wits.

"Actually, it wasn’t absolutely necessary for Her Majesty to make this trip," Eve murmured to herself, a slight curve lifting the corner of her mouth. "But more people, more power."

More people, more mess—and that made it easier to get things done.